China made history by landing its Change-4 spacecraft on the moon's far side. The mission was also the first to experiment with growing plants on the moon, and it transported a mini-biosphere dubbed the Lunar Micro Ecosystem to the lunar surface (LME).
Except for the microgravity and cosmic radiation, the
circumstances inside this compact, cylindrical biosphere were comparable to
those on Earth. The LME included potato seeds, cotton seeds, rapeseeds, yeast
and Arabidopsis thaliana, a common weed.
Except for the cotton, all of them perished shortly back in
2019. A new 3D reconstruction indicates that the cotton plant sprouted two
leaves before dying to frigid conditions after roughly two weeks. The findings
indicate that the experiment was somewhat more effective than previously
thought.
If NASA or other space organizations want to conduct
long-term missions, they must learn how to consistently cultivate plants in
space.
“Simply packing some multi-vitamins will not be enough to
keep astronauts healthy as they explore deep space,” NASA wrote. “They
will need fresh produce.”
Why? Some factors are logistical in nature. Nutrients in
supplements and prepared meals, for example, may degrade with time, and
radiation may hasten this process. As a result, producing fresh vegetables
would provide astronauts with more nutrients, as well as better-tasting meals.
Also, if astronauts could grow plants aboard spacecraft, they wouldn't need to
bring as much prepared food with them.
However, there are psychological advantages to growing
plants in space.
“We already know from our pioneering astronauts that fresh
flowers and gardens on the International Space Station create a beautiful
atmosphere and let us take a little piece of Earth with us on our journeys,”
NASA wrote. “They’re good for our psychological well-being on Earth and in
space.”
NASA is also concerned about making astronaut meals in space
a pleasurable experience. For example, on previous trips, the agency prepared
comfort food and holiday dinners, and it performed a study on astronauts'
preferences for group vs solitary eating, as well as whether they benefit from
making their own food. Other academics are investigating how astronauts'
emotional requirements might be met by space-eatingeating, as well as how to
mitigate space-travel-specific phenomena such as loss of smell.
“At the end of the day, we’re not worried about the muscle
cells,” NASA nutritionist Scott Smith told Eater. “We’re worried about the
human.”
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